


a bite of steel (and a heart of gold)

by remy_the_lemon_berry



Series: tumblr prompts and requests [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Caring Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dehydration, Food mention, Graphic Description, Hurt Logic | Logan Sanders, Hurt/Comfort, Illegal/unethical Hunting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Logic | Logan Sanders Angst, Logic | Logan Sanders Needs a Hug, Logic | Logan Sanders-centric, Protective Deceit | Janus Sanders, Starvation, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Witch Deceit | Janus Sanders, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27728059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remy_the_lemon_berry/pseuds/remy_the_lemon_berry
Summary: Prompt: Janus comforting Logan after something happens????Logan was running through the woods and away from his house. He should probably be more careful of illegal hunters, huh
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: tumblr prompts and requests [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011882
Kudos: 78





	a bite of steel (and a heart of gold)

**Author's Note:**

> MAJOR WARNINGS FOR THIS FIC!!! Graphic injuries/violence, implied child abuse, illegal/unethical hunting, mentions of starvation, dehydration, and general malnutrition, gun/shooting mention, brief food mention, death mention

Logan stumbled through the woods, his feet catching on the gnarled roots of nearby trees. 

He didn’t want to be here.  _ God _ , he didn’t want to be here, but it’s not like he had much of a choice. There wasn’t any other civilization for miles and no road to get there, either. The forest in front of him was the only place to go, because he  _ certainly _ wasn’t coming back the way he came.

Logan was still in danger. It seemed like he was always in danger. Even though he ran from home (that gave him much more trouble than it should have), he had left in a hurry- the man only had a couple days worth of food to survive off of plus a water bottle. Even with his already-shitty situation, many villagers would drive out here to hunt illegally and in very… unethical manners. Logan shuddered at the thought. Those hunters would shoot at anything that moved, regardless of the species.

For lack of a better term, Logan was completely fucked.

But he kept walking. He kept walking because his entire life depended on it.

He had been traversing for what seemed like hours before he finally arrived at a promising sight- a lake. Perfect. A lake meant fresh water, fish to eat, knowledge of the native animals, and  _ rest _ . If heaven existed, this would be it.

Logan stumbled towards the lake, dead leaves crunching beneath his feet. A sigh escaped his lips. He had tried to ration his water, but Logan had already dranken most of it; he hadn’t had any the previous day. His thought process was already foggy and muddled almost to the point of delirium.

That was his first mistake.

The second was his failure to notice the sheer number of leaves on the forest ground even though most of the branches above the area hadn’t lost their leaves yet.

The third was his eyes failing to notice the metal bar underneath his left foot as he stepped forward, putting pressure on the plate.

Logan heard the crack first. Then, he felt the searing, excruciating pain tear through his leg, punching an ear-shattering scream from his throat. He collapsed on the ground, the sudden movement sending more agony racing through his ankle like millions of white-hot knives. Black spots danced in his vision as he lay on the leaves, every micromovement causing a flare of agony through him. 

Through his cottony, pain-addled brain, he knew that his ankle was completely snapped. He had seen images of steel traps and the effect they had on animals, and some had to lose entire limbs because the break was unfixable or infected- if the animal even lasted that long.

The trapper would probably come back in about a day, Logan reasoned. He might be able to hold on that long, but he was already starving and dehydrated and so, so tired. He doubted it. Shit. Shit, he was going to  _ die _ trying to escape one torture only to end up in another. Just his luck.

His vision tilted, swayed. His ears rang with a thousand chimes. Was it normal to not be able to feel his limbs. It didn’t really matter anyway; his vision already began fading to black.

Logan swam in and out of consciousness for what seemed like eons. Maybe eventually, there were footsteps among the crunching leaves. Maybe there were muffled curses when the figure saw Logan’s crumpled body. Maybe there was a  _ SNAP _ of the trap falling apart and a weak cry of pain as his foot was released. Maybe there were hands lifting him gently, cradling him close to the other’s chest. Maybe there were murmured reassurances as Logan whimpered. 

Maybe it was all a dream as everything faded to black once more.

* * *

Soft. Quiet. Dark. Those were the first things Logan noticed when he slowly regained awareness. He lay underneath several heaping blankets, comfortably warm. Someone must have tucked him in. The next thing he noticed was the painful throb in his ankle. It wasn’t nearly as sharp as before, but it was still very prevalent. Logan tried sitting up, but his ankle protested sharply. He hissed through his teeth.

“Hey, no, none of that,” a voice gently chided. A gloved hand pushed him back onto the bed. “You need to rest. That trap did a number on you.”

Logan swallowed, looking up at the figure. “Who are you? Where am I?” He started when shimmering green scales appeared on the stranger.

The person smiled softly. “My name is Janus. I’m a witch and a protector of the forest. You’re in my home.”

Logan swallowed. “Are you going to send me back?”

“To where you came from?” Janus scoffed. “Hardly. You’re malnourished and injured, and based on some of your other injuries, I’d say not all of them were from the trap. It’s… probably best if you stayed here for the time being.”

Logan swallowed, closing his eyes against the fresh wave of pain. “How can I trust you?”

Janus sighed, shifting in his seat. “I could have easily left you there, but I protect anyone in the forest. That includes runaways like you. I would never leave anyone or anything hurt while I can help it.”

Logan opened his eyes again, glancing up at Janus. “How long can I stay?”

The witch’s mouth quirked upwards. “As long as you like. No matter how long you stay, you will always be safe here.”

“Then can I stay? Please?”

Janus took off a glove, raising his scaled hand in an oath. “I promise I will let you stay as long as you want, and no one will hurt you again.” He paused, examining Logan’s face. Tears burned at the back of the runaway’s eyes. “May I touch you?” Logan didn’t have the strength to speak, so he nodded.

Slowly, Janus reached his ungloved hand towards Logan’s hand, slowly stroking his hair. His other hand moved towards Logan’s, holding it in a strong yet gentle grip. The pure tenderness behind the actions was what broke Logan’s barriers. Tears leaked out of his eyes as Janus continued to comfort him. Tears turned to sobs, and somehow, Logan found himself in the midst of a warm, soft embrace. The runaway buried his head in Janus’ chest while the other hummed sweet nothings into his hair. And when Logan’s tears finally petered out, they stayed in the embrace for a while longer, neither wanting to let go. And when Logan finally did, he gazed up into the witch’s heterochromatic eyes and whispered “thank you.”

Maybe things would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr!
> 
> Main blog: remy-the-lemon-berry
> 
> Writing blog: remy-berry-writes


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